Satan Holds A Clearance Sale

Conscious of the need to move with the times,
Satan decided to sell off large part
of his stock of temptations.
He placed an advertisement in newspaper
and spent the whole of the next day
attending to customers in his workshop.

There were some amazing items for sale:
stones on which the virtuous could stumble,
mirrors that increased one's own sense of importance and
spectacles that diminished other people's importance.
Hanging on wall were a few other prize objects:
a dagger with a curved blade stabbing people in the back
and tape recorders that recorded only gossip and lies.

'Don't worry about the price!' cried old Satan
to any potential customers.
'Take it away with you today and pay me when you can!'

One visitor noticed two much-used tools
that had been relegated to corner.
They didn't look anything special,
but they were very expensive.
Curious, he asked the reason
for this apparent discrepancy.

'They're both very worn because
they're the tools I use most,' said Satan, laughing.
'I wouldn't want them to be too noticeable
because then people would know
how to protect themselves against them.
But they're both worth the asking price:
one is Doubt and the other is a Sense of Inferiority.
When all other temptations fail,
those two always work.’

taken from :
Stories for Parents, Children and Grandchildren Volume 1
by Paulo Coelho